My Screwed Up Life
by Thought Thinker
Summary: Claire runs away from an abusive family with her little sister. She walks all the way from Wyoming to La Push, Washington. Tragedy strikes before Claire can even reach La Push.Can her heart be mended by certain someones or will the Voultri get her?
1. Angry and Defensive Claire

Chapter 1

Angry and Defensive Claire

**Claire POV**

"Claire, Claire?" _Ugh just leave me alone_, I thought, as the Wyoming sunshine blared through my window. "Claire!" a very annoyed voice yelled. "I am not quite ready for screaming yet, but thank you for the kind gesture," I said sarcastically and groggily. The sarcasm was just a part of being sixteen, I guess. "Finally, you're up." Now that I'm fully awake I can recognize the voice as…ugh, my little half-sister Vivvian, the last person to brighten my day. "Hello you lazy lump of lard, how is your morning," Vivvian sarcastically asked. "It was going just fine until I heard your voice," I retorted.

I look up to see a scowl on Vivvian's face, and then I catch a tear roll down her cheek and her face crumple. This breaks my heart and I softly say, "Oh sweetheart I didn't mean it I'm just not in a very good mood this morning, I'm sorry." Vivvian is nine and very sensitive, but her words can be pretty acidic at times. The only way not to make a big deal out of it is just to roll with it.

"Claire!" my mother yells. "I didn't do it!" I yell out of instinct. _Oh she wants me to come down stairs, _I suddenly realize. I mentally slap myself for that. I quickly ran down stairs before Vivvian's dad, Derek, could come up and drag me down stairs himself. I was supposed to call him dad, but I will probably die before I even accidentally call that ass "dad". It's not Vivvian's fault that she had a horrible dad; she would've been with her mom if she hadn't died in a fire.

But anyway, as I hit the bottom step my mom said, "Claire, I need to talk to you." I stopped and stood there, "Ok, what is it," I asked. " First say good morning to your father," she demanded. "Good morning scumbag," I said and immediately regretted it. Before I could even blink Derek was out of his chair and had already smacked me across the face before I could leap away. I ended up on the floor, with my back against the wall, rubbing my cheek which was stinging.

My mother was such a lousy person. She just stood there, flipping breakfast in her pan. I really wanted to leave this place. My mother's yelling yanked me out of thought. "Claire! Get off your lazy butt and set the table, geez." I did as I was told so I could avoid another beating session. As Vivvian was walking down the stairs, Derek said, "Hey Claire, why don't you get your sweet self over here, fill my plate and tell your mama to stop being a lazy cow." Apparently mom wasn't going fast enough for the ass. Vivvian being sensitive screamed, "Don't you dare talk to my sister like that and don't you ever talk about my mother like that!"

And then the unthinkable happened, that man got up, walked over to my sister, pushed her down and stepped on her arm like it was a twig. With a sickening crack her arm broke and she cried out in pain. I grabbed a near-by pan and with all my force, beat Derek's head till it bled.

I quickly picked up my sister and ran for our room. I locked the door and began shoving our clothes into a bag. After I was finished I dropped our bag onto the roof. I picked up poor Vivvian and hopped out the window, onto the roof. I carefully slid off the roof, avoiding the kitchen window. After my feet were safely on the ground, I was sprinting. I didn't know where to go or what to do, so I just kept running.


	2. Sad, Lucky and Scared Claire

Chapter 2

Sad, Lucky and Scared Claire

I ended up deciding to take Vivvian to the hospital, so a doctor could take care of her broken and badly bleeding arm. The only problem was that I had absolutely no idea where the hospital was. I was in the middle of the woods and had no idea how to get anywhere. "Vivvian, which way should I go," I asked. All I got for a reply were words too slurred with pain to understand, so I just decided to go west until I found a place. I soon found a little general store and I went inside. "Good lord, what has happened to that little girl," the cashier asked in a horrified voice. She was tall and looked a little bit like Vivvian, only she looked more Italian then Vivvian did.

"She's hurt." Was all I could reply through the tears, I just realized I was crying. "Where's the nearest hospital?" I asked with a sniffle. "How do you intend on getting there?" She asked in a worried voice. "I'll walk with her in my arms." I replied. "Nonsense, I'll take you." She said.

Then she whirled around and went through a door marked "Manager". I was guessing she left to go talk with her boss about leaving. Her boss must have agreed because she came back quickly and ushered us into her car. "What's your name?" She asked. "Well my name's Claire and this is my sister Vivvian, what's yours?" I asked. We hit a bump and Vivvian winced, poor girl. "My name is Aneeda ," she answered. We were soon at the hospital and I quickly thanked Aneeda.

I burst through the hospital doors and I screamed, "Somebody please help her!" as I felt more of her blood drip down my arm. About two seconds later, three nurses carried Vivvian to a room and started working on her. I couldn't bear to watch my poor little sister like this as they stopped the blood flow. Poor Vivvian was even beautiful in pain, her pure green eyes shone like emeralds; her pale complexion complimented her dark brown curly hair, fanned out all around her.

The doctor pulled me aside and asked me what our names were. I told him and I also told him that we couldn't go back to our parents. He didn't bother asking why. After Vivvian was all casted up the doctor asked how we planned on paying. I froze. I barely had enough money to keep us alive let alone to pay a hospital bill. "I don't have any money," I sadly told the doctor. He only shook his head and motioned for Vivvian and me to follow him. We did as we were told and we ended up in the parking lot heading towards the doctor's car.

We silently drove to a diner. I quickly learned that the doctor's name was Aaron Patton. Once we were inside the doctor offered us food. We both shook our heads no, not wanting to add more to our bill. "Ok then, so why can't you go back to your parents," he slowly asked. "Well, this girls' father," I said while looking at Vivvian, "and my step-father, is very abusive. He's the one who broke my sister's arm. My mother just stood back and watched as he stepped on it in his boots. So we have quite rotten parents," I finished with a breath. "Well I'll tell you what, I'll pay for the bill, if you allow me to report this man to the police," Doctor Aaron said. At first I just sat there looking bewildered. The next thing I know I'm hugging Aaron while tears are streaming down my face. "Thank you," I repeat a million times.

After we say good bye to Aaron, Vivvian asked,"What do we do now?" That was a question that I could not answer, because to tell you the truth, I really didn't know what to do next.


	3. Traveling Claire

Chapter 3

Traveling Claire

**Claire POV**

I had no idea where to go or what to do. Vivvian and I were completely alone. "Vivvian, where should we go, because I have absolutely no idea." I said. She sat in thought for a moment. We ended up in the forest after we left the doctor and now we were resting on a log. "We could go to Aunt Emily and Uncle Sam's," she suggested. I thought about this for a minute.

_Wait, Claire what are you thinking,_ I thought. _They live in La Push, which is in Washington. But it's probably the only place we can go. _"Alright, let's go there. But we'll have to walk." I stated. She agreed and we set off to what I thought was northwest.

There were many creepy sounds in the middle of the night as we were walking. Once a bat swooped down and almost got tangled in my short curly brown hair. Vivvian looked like a ghost in the moonlight, due to her pale complexion.

"Clllllaaaaiiiiirrrreee," Vivvian whined, "we've been walking for hours." "Ok. We can find a place to rest." I said. To our luck there was a near-by rock pile that had a little crevice that we could fit into. Once we were inside, we saw that it was actually a vast cave that a bunch of rocks covered. It was very scary looking with all the shadows and darkness, but it would have to do.

Vivvian picked the left side of the cave for us to sleep on. As I was lying down I felt my foot crunch something. I look around to see a mass of bones. I screamed not knowing what the bones were to.

"What, what is it," Vivvian asked in a panicked voice. "Bones!" I screamed. Vivvian went over to examine them. "Aww, they're dog bones." Vivvian said sadly after a few minutes. I myself am a major animal lover, so of course I'm going to cry at the sight of a dead dog.

I can't wait to get out of here.


	4. Running Claire

Chapter 4

Running Claire

**Claire's POV**

Vivvian and I woke up early and hit the road again. After hours of walking a vegetable garden caught my eye. "Vivvian, how stealthy are you?" I asked. "Not very, I thought we agreed years ago that I was the brains and you were the strength." Vivvian replied.

"Ok, here's the plan, we'll hop that fence and get all the food we can cause I don't know about you, but I'm hungry. If we get caught just run like the wind, but don't forget our bag." I told her. I looked around and found some charcoal. I made two lines across each of our cheeks and said, "Let's do this."

Soon our plan was in action. We stealthily climbed the fence and started plucking food. Suddenly a woman ran out of the house with a very angry expression. "Run Claire!" Vivvian shouted and with that we took off. We climbed the fence and started running, but the lady was following us!

_Crazy woman. _I thought as I hopped another fence, with the crazy lady following us. We rounded a corner and I pulled Vivvian behind a fence in a playground. The lady stopped and looked around. She started walking towards us and I pulled Vivvian into the bushes behind us.

Luckily the woman didn't hear us and as we watched through the leaves, the lady disappeared. "Wholly crap. That was sooo close." Vivvian sighed. "She's crazy! What kind of person chases people like that? She wasn't even fast!" I said. Vivvian laughed. "Why did we run? We should've walked." Vivvian and I both started laughing at that. "Ok, what do we do now? I'm still hungry." Vivvian asked.

By now we were in Washington. We lived very close to the boarder. "I say we should keep going." Vivvian suggested. I agreed. We walked until it got dark and we slept by a cliff.

I woke up in the morning and I looked around. At first I didn't notice, but then I took another look around and boy did I notice. "VIVVIAN!" I shouted. "CCCLLLAAAIIIRRREEE!" I heard Vivvian scream then I heard her sob. I ran in her direction and I didn't see her. I started panicking. I mean really panicking. "VIVVIAN!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "Claire in down here!" I heard Vivvian shout. I suddenly took in my surroundings…

I was at the edge of the cliff.

**Please review! I don't mind!**


	5. Crushed Claire

**Ok guys, for those of you who read this (which probably isn't many of you) I'm sorry I haven't updated. To be honest, I was waiting for some reviews, but obviously, I'm not getting any. So just sit back, relax and enjoy the story. And if you can, review…..please!**

Chapter 5

Crushed Claire

**Claire's POV**

"Hold on Vivian!" I ran to grab a branch, a rope, a rock, something, anything to save my little sister. She was the only true family I had left. If I lost her, I would be nothing. I would have nothing.

I would be all alone.

I scrambled around to find something, but there was nothing. I ran back to the side of the cliff and lowered my arm as far as it could go. "Grab it!" I yelled she reached up and could barely touch my finger tips."Reach!" I yelled. She pulled herself up a little bit more and I grabbed her hand. I quickly hoisted her up and pulled her into a tight hug. Vivian burst into tears and I cradled her in my lap when I sat down.

We decided to just stay there that night. I had made a bow and arrow and Vivian managed to shoot a deer, which I reluctantly ate. When I slept, I slept peacefully. I was getting so used to traveling that I was starting to think of myself as an Indian. Vivian thought that was really stupid.

When I woke the next morning I felt extra groggy. I stumbled around the cliff side. Maybe it was just me, but I swore the cliff was smaller. My head cleared in alarm.

Where was Vivian?

I noticed that the cliff had crumbled a bit…right where Vivian had slept.

Panic fluttered through me. I screamed Vivian's name, but this time…I didn't get a response. My pulse sped up as I ran to the side of the cliff. I was hesitant, but I peeked over the side. I recoiled in horror and agony.

Then I blacked out.

**~Sometime Later~**

I woke up with the sun blaring in my eyes. At first I felt very relaxed and calm, but then I realized that there was something warm pooled around me. I lifted my head and saw the red. I then realized what had happened…

Vivian

The cliff

When I blacked out

Why I blacked out

And that I had obviously hit my head

Without looking down at all, I stepped a few feet away from where I had slept and scaled the cliff all the way to the bottom. A few times, rocks would loosen beneath my palms and I would slip a little, but I was determined to get down.

Once I finally got to the bottom I walked over to where the cliff had collapsed. I sifted through the rocks and grass a little. I gently pulled on the hand that I had noticed last night and out came a bloody, dirty, broken…and dead Vivian. Her eyes were wide open and she stared blankly into the sky. I closed her eyes, took her in my arms and cried. I cried and cried and cried. I cried until the sun went down and I knew that I could no longer stay.

I dug a hole with my hands, not caring how raw they got. I didn't care about anything anymore except burying Vivian. It took me a while to chisel the headstone, but I did it. I wanted her to have a proper grave. After I carefully buried her I picked some flowers and laid them on her grave. Then I left.

As walked in the direction of Washington, I closed my heart. Never again would I let love in. I wasn't capable of it. No matter how much somebody would try I wouldn't let it happen.

I walked for what felt like miles until I collapsed midstride and didn't get up. It started to rain but I didn't care. I fell asleep feeling cold, lost and alone.

What was I going to do now.


	6. Found Claire

**Hey guys, here's chapter six. And I just want to thank **future writer girl** for reviewing since I can't send you a message!**

Chapter 6

Found Claire

I had been walking aimlessly for days, and days, and days. I lost track of how many. My clothes were tattered and I was filthy. I didn't really care.

One day as I was walking I stopped and started to think about my mother and step-father. I thought about how horrible they were and that Vivian had died because of them. This angered me and I walked over to a tree. I imagined Derek's face was the tree and started pounding it with my fists."It's all his damn fault!"I screamed at the top of my lungs. My knuckles took more abuse than the tree. They were red and bloody by the time I stopped but I didn't care.

I didn't care about anything anymore.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps in the trees. I crouched into a defensive position and I heard a laugh. It sounded like a dog was laughing though. I then saw black eyes emerge in the trees. Then the body of a giant wolf emerged. It was chocolate brown.

I didn't gasp, scream, get scared or run. I just sat down. The wolf looked at me with confusion in its eyes. Then it kneeled down, indicating that I get on its back. _What's the worst that could happen, _I thought as I climbed on its back.

It ran through the forest and even though I was all angry and everything…it was so much fun! The wind in my hair and the exhilaration thrilled me. It stopped by a small house. As I got closer, I smelled biscuits and other things cooking.

Something clicked inside me that told me I was home. It was an odd feeling because it seemed like I knew this place from somewhere, but I didn't remember ever seeing it.

As I got off the wolfs back it nudged me toward the door of the house. Once I got close to the house the wolf took off. I stood there dumbfounded. I was about to just walk away when I heard someone shout, "No, don't go!"

I whirled around, prepared to throw a punch or something when I saw the hottest guy ever.

"Who are you? Where am I?" I asked.

"Well, my name is Quil Ateara and you are in La Push." He said with a smile. "And who are you?" He asked.

"Claire." I answered blankly. He looked shocked.

"Claire?" he softly asked. It looked like he had tears in his eyes.

"Yeah. Did you say we were in La Push?" I asked.

I didn't get an answer. Next thing I knew Quil had grabbed my hand and was dragging me to the tiny house. He burst through the door and screamed, "Emily! I found her! She's home!"


	7. Forgotten By Claire

Chapter 7

Forgotten By Claire

Quil yanked me into the small house and to the kitchen. It was a decent size. A woman was standing in front of the stove cooking the biscutts I smelled. She was small and petite. She had pitch black hair and copper skin.

"Emily!" Quil said in an urgent tone.

"What is it Quill, can't you see I'm…" The woman trailed as she turned and looked at me. I gasped when I saw the long scars trailing down her once beautiful face.

She dropped the bowl she was holding, spilling a thick, cream colored batter all over the floor.

She slowly walked forward and softly took my shoulders in her small hands.

"Is it really you, Claire? Do you know who I am?" She asked, a look of hope in her eyes.

I looked around, and I did recognize the house from some distant memory, but I didn't recognize her.

"Well, I do recognize this house from somewhere, but…I don't believe I know who you are." I said as gently as I could. I didn't want to disappoint her.

Her face fell a little and she sat down in a nearby chair.

"You remember me though right?" Quil asked, standing in front of me. I tried really hard to dig through my memories, but his face didn't register anything. No bells were rang.

I shook my head no and he mimicked the lady.

"Well, why don't you sit? Now tell me, where have you come from?" She asked as I sat in a chair at a huge table. They were on one side of the table and I was sort of on the other side.

"Well, my name is Claire Switchen. I walked here from Wyoming in search of my family out here in La Push. My mom's name is Casandra Strayer and I don't know my dad's name. I had a sister, Vivian, but she…" I choked on a sob," didn't make the trip." I finally let out.

"Oh my goodness, it is her! Sweetheart I'm your aunt. My name is Emily and this is Quil. You used to be very close to him." She said.

I looked at him but his eyes were still sad. "Give it up Emily, she doesn't remember." He said as he got up and left.

"I'm sorry Claire. He has just missed you so much that the fact that you don't remember him isn't making him overjoyed." She said apologetically.

"It's ok I would feel the same. Is there anybody else to meet?" I asked as she got up.

"Oh yes there's many more people. Why don't you go to the empty room upstairs and unpack your things. It's the last door to the right." Emily said as she bent down and started wiping the batter off the floor.

"But I have to go find my family."I said.

"Sweetheart, this is your family. You're finally home. Oh and call me Aunt Emily." She said.

I stood for a moment and then started up the stairs.


	8. Freaked Out Claire

**Sorry I Haven't Updated In So Long! I've Been Super Busy And I've Run Out Of Ideas. But I've Fixed That Little Problem And Well…..Here's The Chapter.**

Chapter 8

Freaked Out Claire

I lied awake in bed that night, staring up at the blank ceiling. Thinking about…well just my life. I mostly thought about Vivvian.

That poor sweet girl who loved to play in the snow, make funny faces at me when I was sad, draw pictures, coloring outside the lines and eat frosting until she got sick. The girl who had hopes, dreams and a future. The girl who fell off a cliff and died.

"I miss you, Vivvian." I whispered as tears streamed down my face.

"Don't cry." I heard a soft voice say.

"I'm not, just leave me alone Vivvian." I said.

"No, Claire! Don't make me use my funny face!" She giggled.

"Fine," I said as I looked at her, "what do you want."

"Mom misses us." She said.

"Vivvian, I don't care what she thinks and why would she miss us? She hasn't even tried to find us. You should go to bed, we still have to get to La Push."

"Oh Claire," Vivvian said sadly, "you're already there."

"Huh?" I said.

"I love you Claire. Tell Aunt Emily and Uncle Sam I said I love them. Goodnight." She said as she started to fade.

I was really confused until I realized where I was. Vivvian was right, I was in La Push. In Aunt Emily's guest bed room. And Vivvian was dead. I must have been too asleep to realize it, and Vivvian couldn't have really been there.

I thought I had been hulucinating until I saw someone start writing in the dust on the window. It said, "Goodnight Claire." I started hyperventilating and screamed. I ran all the way down the hall to Emily and Sam's room. I threw open the door and flew into their bed, waking up Aunt Emily.

"Claire! Claire what's wrong?" Aunt Emily asked surprised.

"It's, it's, it's, m-m-m-my r-room! Come on!" I said as I started yanking on her hand.

She quickly followed me to my room and I told her about what was on my window. We got to my room and I pointed at the window. I gasped when I saw that nothing was written there.

"Claire, are you sure there was something there?"

"YES! I'm positive! I-" I was going to finish what I was saying but I thought twice about it. I didn't want to tell anyone about Vivvian's visit. That was between us.

"Nevermind. Vivvian says she loves you and Uncle Sam."I said as I climbed back into bed.

"Where is she anyway? I know you said she didn't make the trip but…Oh well you can just tell me in the morning." She said as she started tucking me back into the blankets.

"Good night my beautiful niece. I love you." She said as she kissed my forehead.

Aunt Emily walked over to my door and switched the light off. As she was walking out the door I said, "I love you too."

I lied on my side and cried silent tears.

That was the first time someone had tucked me in and kissed me goodnight in nine years.


	9. Loved Claire

Chapter 9

Loved Claire

Claire's POV

The sun was shining brightly the next morning in La Push and I was woken up by a very loud two year old who I didn't even know.

"Claire, Claire, Claire!" The kid shouted as he jumped up and down on my bed.

"Yay! Claire is here!" I heard a little girl start shouting. Suddenly I felt two bodies jumping on my bed.

"Ivy! Quinn! Stop jumping on Claire!" I heard a female voice say from the doorway.

"But mommy we're just excited! We've always wanted to meet Claire ever since yesterday!" The little girl, Ivy, said.

I laughed and sat up. The two cutest kids were sitting on my lap with wide eyes and 'O' shaped mouths. "Hi Claire. I'm Rachel, Paul's wife. Have you met him yet?" The lady in the doorway asked.

"Um, no I don't think so. I only met Aunt Emily and Quill." I said.

"Oh…that explains why…never mind. Well Emily is making omelets and everyone is already downstairs, if you want to join us." Rachel said kindly.

"Sure I'll be down in about five minutes." I replied.

"Come on Quinn and Ivy, it's almost time to eat." Rachel said to the kids that were still on my lap. Before they jumped off the bed and ran out the door they both gave me a hug. After they left I sat in my bed for a few minutes.

After making myself look presentable I skipped downstairs humming my favorite song. I had the cutest green and black checkered bow in my hair, but that was the only accessory I had left. I had to leave everything else in Wyoming.

Well, I had one necklace that had a silver chain and had a charm that was carved from wood. In the most beautiful handwriting I'd ever seen was written the initials C.A. It was also the only piece of jewelry that my step loser hadn't destroyed.

The moment my foot hit the bottom step, I had fourteen pairs of eyes on me. "Claire! You're awake." I heard Aunt Emily say. I looked in her direction and saw a man with his arms around her waist. That's when I guessed that he was Uncle Sam.

"Um, hi everybody." I said really nervously. "Rachel, why don't you introduce her to everybody? I still have to cook." Aunt Emily called as she returned to the kitchen.

Rachel put her arm around my shoulders and started pulling me to people. By now about half of the people in the room had resumed doing whatever they were doing before I came in.

The first person she took me to was tall and had cropped jet black hair. When he saw Rachel, his stern look turned to pure love and admiration.

"Claire, this is Paul. He's my husband and you already know Ivy and Quinn." She said. "Ah, Claire. We've all missed you so much." Paul said, still looking at Rachel.

Rachel laughed and pulled me to yet another tall, tan and gorgeous guy. "And this is Jacob, my brother." Rachel said. "C'mon sis, Claire remembers me!" Jacob said.

Rachel rolled her eyes and pulled me to another person. After about nine more people, I knew who everybody was in the room. For the first time in nine years, I actually felt like I had a family. I actually felt like I was loved.

I had this weird feeling that someone was missing though. I turned to Rachel and asked, "Where's that other guy that I met yesterday?"

"Oh you mean Quill? I'm not sure where he is. He said he would be here. You would figure that he would want to see you after how long he's had to be without you."Rachel said looking puzzled.

She walked over to Paul, dragging me with her, and asked, "Where's Quill? He isn't out _there_ is he?" Rachel asked.

"Eh, well…Um…"Paul said uncomfortably. "Well he said he just couldn't quite be here now. Said he couldn't handle it." He finally said.

"Oh" was all that Rachel said as she looked down at me (She was considerably taller than me in high heels)

I made my way through the sea of people to the kitchen where Aunt Emily was getting the food ready to eat. "Claire, I know this is kind of sudden, but I want to know how you feel about going back to school."

"It sounds kind of scary." I admitted.

"Well of course you wouldn't be alone. Jacob, Collin, Brady, Seth, Quill and Embry would go back with you." Emily said sympathetically.

"Oh, that changes everything! Yea of course I would like to go back to school then." I said energetically.

"Well great then! We'll sign you guys up to Black Forest High next week." Emily said, turning back to the food.

I sat back down in the living room again, but started to feel kind of claustrophobic so I headed toward the back door.

Panic started to flutter inside me and I could feel my head start to pound. At this point I had to run out the door. I thrust the door open and continued running.

Ever since about eight years ago I'd been very claustrophobic. The step loser locked me in a coat closet with no light and no food for two days. I had to sit with my legs against the wall because the closet was way too small.

My mom finally found me there when she was getting a coat to go out. That showed me just how much she truly cared about me.

Half way through the yard I tripped and fell, cutting my hands and knees on rocks. When I stood up I saw a shadowy figure come out from behind a tree. The figure slowly approached me and I was cemented to where I stood from fear.

The closer it got the more I could make out who it was. It was a girl with long curly brown hair and bright green eyes. It was my sister.

I still couldn't move, but at this point I didn't want to. Vivian came right in front of me and lifted my hands. She kissed each of my palms and my cuts went away. They even went away on my knees.

"I love you Claire," Was what she said right before she disappeared.

I stood there for twenty minutes just staring off into the trees before someone came outside to get me.


	10. Clumsy Claire

**Hey Readers, I'm sorry I havn't updated in such a long time, I've been really busy. To Make up for all the time i havn't updated I wrote a long chapter for you guys =] Please enjoy and review! **

**-Thought Thinker (AKA Linsey)**

* * *

Chapter 10

Clumsy Claire

These weird experiences with Vivian were starting to give me the heebie geebies, but my mind was way too occupied with other crises so I didn't really have time to think about it.

Uncle Sam had me doing all kinds of chores like washing clothes, doing dishes, taking out the trash which was a VERY LONG walk, vacuuming, bathroom duty every Wednesday and weekends and keeping my room spotless. I was bound to keel over any minute. I had absolutely no idea why he was making me do all this but since he was providing me a place to live, I decided to just go with it instead of throw a fit.

I also had to worry about how school was going to be. It was currently summer in La Push and I was going to be a sophomore when I started. I had got held back in kindergarten so I was going to be a tad bit older than I should.

I was one hundred percent nervous and hoped that my temper and I wouldn't start any drama. Uncle Sam would kill me and ground me forever…I could already tell. I did hope, though, to make some good friends while at Black Forest High. Since I hadn't been in school since about third grade, I didn't have any friends…at all.

While trudging along to take the garbage out, I heard a howl in the distance. Pulling up the garbage bag so it wouldn't drag on the ground, I ran to the bin. After stuffing the bag inside, I listened for another howl.

I got lucky when another one came and I ran in the direction of the sound. I was only running toward the sound because I wanted to see at least ONE animal. There were absolutely none by Uncle Sam and Aunt Emily's house.

The ground was wet and started soaking my sneakers. Branches caught in my hair and thorns were scraping my knees. After living in the wild for so long, I didn't notice any of this…I was kind of like Jane from Tarzan, haha. Clouds were darkening the sky and very faint rumbling sounds came into hearing range.

"Darn it!" I shouted to myself, "C'mon howl just one more time, please?"

I got nervous after I heard the animal howl one more time because it sounded closer than I would've liked it to have been.

"Claire!" I heard a guys voice shout, "What are you doing out here? It's about to rain and you'll get sick if you get cold."

Quill stepped out of some trees and I instantly relaxed. "Oh gosh Quill, you scared me half to death! I thought you were some random stranger guy that was going to abduct me!" I said.

"Claire, what if I was? What would you have done?" Quill asked in a raised voice. His eyebrows were knit together and he looked seriously worried. "You know what never mind, I hate yelling at you. So why are you running around the forest all by yourself?"

"Oh!" I exclaimed, "I heard a wolf howling and I wanted to check it out."

"Did you see the wolf?" Quill asked kind of nervously.

"Ummmm…no I don't think I did. I might've once but that was probably just a rock."

He seemed satisfied with my answer and relaxed. A smile spread across his face as he said, "You've grown up so much since the last time I saw you. You were only like four."

I studied Quill a little bit. He had deep brown eyes and his hair was more dark brown than black. Quill also didn't have the short, cropped hair like all the other boys, it was thicker and feathery. What really stunned me was his body, it was perfect. He was shirtless so he was much easier to gawk at. His abs, his arms, his face…_Claire! Stop daydreaming! He's going to think you're weird if you keep staring at him,_ I shouted to myself in my head.

I was right, Quill was looking at me funny. "…would you want to go?" he was asking.

I felt really stupid as I asked, "What?"

"Um, we're having a bonfire on Friday night and I was just wondering if you would want to go. It's at the beach, down by the water."

"Sure, why not…who's gonna be there? And what day is it today exactly?" I asked.

"Well," Quill sighed as he leaned against a tree, "There will be Jacob, me, Embry, Collin, Brady, Seth, Leah and a guy you haven't met yet. His name is TJ. He's a new mem-…never mind. And today is Monday."

"Ok, now I have just one more question." I asked, "Can you help me find my way home?"

****Tuesday****

Aunt Emily and I were sitting on the couch in the living room. She was sewing something small together while I was engrossed in The Amazing World of Gumball. Thunder boomed outside and lightening lit up the windows. Lord forbid the power go out and I get deprived of my T.V…

"Crap!" I shouted as the lights abruptly went out and the T.V. screen went dark.

Aunt Emily started laughing while I sat on the floor with my legs crossed, right in front of the T.V., willing it to come back on.

"Please, please, please! I'll dust your screen or get you a new remote!"

I was very unsuccessful. Finally I just gave up and scooted back to the couch. I thought of how this house should have a fireplace to provide light on late afternoons like these, which made me think of the bonfire on Friday.

"Aunt Emily? Can I go to a bonfire with Quill on Friday?"

Aunt Emily's eyebrows knit together and she stopped putting fabric in a basket at her feet. "Did he invite you?"

I kinda laughed, "Haha yes Aunt Emily, I'm not inviting myself."

"Wow…that's surprising…usually the boys don't invite people to their bonfires." Aunt Emily said quietly, but then a smirk spread across her face from what I could see in the dark and she muttered, "Oh yes I forgot…"

"Wholy Crap!" I shouted, "What's with all the secrets and never minds? It's driving me crazy!"

Aunt Emily sighed and after a few moments, stood up. She walked over to the kitchen and quickly punched numbers in her cell phone. She was lucky to have a signal.

"Quill? I think it's time." She muttered.

"Time for what?" I asked curiously. There was a pit growing in my stomach and I could tell this was not going to be good.

There was a long pause on the phone, but then a muffled voice said a few quick words. Aunt Emily pulled the phone away from her ear, noticing that Quill had hung up on her. She sighed and punched one number into the phone, probably speed dial.

"Hi Sam," She paused to hear Uncle Sam's greeting, "I think it's time we told her. I mean she'll be staying here for a long time and we can trust her." Aunt Emily softly spoke into the phone. I could barely hear her, so I crept off the couch to get a tad bit closer.

"Ok…ok…sure… bring all the boys with you…be safe, I love you." She said as she closed her phone.

I quickly tried to get back to the couch and look like a "little angel" but I tripped over something, ran into a side table and flipped over the back of the couch on the way there.

Aunt Emily stood in the doorway to the kitchen, listening to me be a clutz.

"I'm ok!"I yelled, knowing Aunt Emily had watched me. "So what's going on?" I went to subconsciously touch my wood necklace, but it wasn't there.

"Oh no!" I exclaimed as I dropped to the floor and started feeling around for my necklace.

"What's wrong Clai-"

"MY NECKLACE IS GONE!" I interrupted her.

"Sweetheart, you'll never find it in the dark, you'll have to wait for the lights to turn back on." Aunt Emily said sympathetically.

"No I have to find it! The charm is about the size of a quarter and is shaped like a heart…it has the initials C.A. on it…I've gotta find a light!" I shot up off the ground and ran to the stairs. I knew I was probably going to fall atleast twice on the way up but I had to find that necklace…I've had it ever since before I can remember… ever since before I was pushed off the roof of my old house when I was nine and lost my memory.

I tore down the hallway to my room where I had a flashlight. Just as I was about to go through the doorway to my room I ran right smack into my door and fell to the ground. The hallway started spinning and my head started to throb. Before I knew it, I was out cold.

****Hours Later****

"Claire?" "Is she ok?" "What happened?" "When did you find her?" "Did she hit her head?" "Yea it looks swollen." "Aw crap I hope she's not having a concussion!" "She is such a clutz." "Who is she?" "That's Claire dumb ass!"

Ten blurry faces were leaned over me and all of them were talking.

"Number one, I'm not ok. Number two, I ran into my door. Number three, yes I hit my head. Number four, if you thought for a second I was having a concussion you shoulda called 911! Number five, I am not that big of a clutz. Number seven, Yea I'm Claire and number eight…watch your language Collin!" I muttered.

"Claire's alive!" Brady shouted.

"And looking stunning this evening!" Brady sarcastically added. My hand flew up and connected with his forehead, making a loud slapping sound.

"Ow!" He exclaimed. "Feist much?"

"Shut up." I moaned turning over on the couch. My forehead instantly started stinging. The excruciating pain caused me to fall off the couch, but just as I was expecting to feel the cold, hard, unforgiving ground I was back on the couch.

I looked around me in shock, "What just happened? I should be lying on the ground squirming in pain right about now."

Aunt Emily and Uncle Sam Came rushing into the room.

"Oh goodness Claire, you're awake! You gave us all a horrible scare! What happened?" my Aunt Emily gushed as she examined my forehead.

"I just ran into my door," I explained through clenched teeth, trying not to scream. "Nothing out of the ordinary…What I would really like to know is what the heck is going on around here!"

Everyone looked at each other, then looked at Quill.

"Quill…?" I asked.


	11. Imprinted Claire

Chapter 11

Imprinted Claire

"Quil…?" I asked.

"Claire…Do you remember yesterday when you heard that wolf howl in the woods?" Quil questioned.

I nodded and beckoned for him to continue. "Well, that wasn't a wolf."

"What are you talking about?" I asked confused. "Then what was it?"

"It was-" Quil was cut off by a loud howl outside.

"Aw crap, David!" Sam shouted and ran outside.

"Who's David?" I asked, but Quil just grabbed my hand and tugged me outside.

Once Quil yanked the door open and pulled me outside, I felt like I was going to throw up. A giant orangish/ tan wolf was crouched in a timid position as Sam tried to calm him down. The wolf started barking and whining. I started to feel really bad for the wolf because it looked honestly scared. Without even thinking about what I was doing, I started walking toward the terrified wolf. "Claire, no!" Quil shouted as he grabbed my arm, trying to stop me.

I shook Quil off me and continued to walk toward the wolf until I was right in front of it. It was shaking uncontrollably and its eyes were darting in all directions. I slowly brought my hand up to its' forehead and gently started stroking the long, soft orange fur.

The wolf stopped shaking and looked directly into my eyes then Sam said, "Oh no, quick cover him!"

I gasped as the wolf slowly turned into a human guy. He stared into my eyes and it seemed like the world stopped moving and it was just him and I. "Claire?" A foggy voice shouted, but I didn't hear or answer them. The guy had bright blue eyes and dirty blonde hair that reached a tad bit past his ears. His skin was WAY lighter than the other boys, but he wasn't pale. I don't even think he was Native American, but he was perfect. Sam had managed to get a pair of shorts on him…but that was all he was wearing.

"You…you!" Quil shouted at David and we were immediately yanked out of our trance.

I looked back at Quil and saw him…what's the word I'm looking for? Oh yea, explode. The next thing I knew there was a chocolate brown wolf where Quil was standing.

"No Quil! David can't help it! He doesn't even know what's going on." Jacob shouted at Quil, but I don't think he got the message. Quil looked murderous, and his look was pointed right at David.

David noticed this and a malicious look formed on his face. He growled and grabbed me in his arms to shove me behind him. Quil howled in protest and charged David. David started shaking violently so Jared ran up to him and grabbed his arms, kinda shaking him, saying "David! Don't phase, you're too close to Claire. If you don't want her hurt then calm down."

Sam, Seth, Paul, Jacob, Embry, Leah, Collin, Brady and the other guy that I still didn't know yet were gone and all replaced by wolves. Black, sandy brown, gray, russet, dark gray with spots, another gray but smaller, yellowish, tan with white spots and completely white (**In order by names that I listed them)**. It took every single one of them to hold Quil back.

David was still shaking and Jared looked at me with a pleading look. I knew what I had to do and now I knew what was going on…sorta. I stepped out from behind David to in front of him and put my hands on either sides of his face. He kind of stopped shaking when he noticed me and his expression softened when he looked me in the eyes.

I seized the opportunity and said, "David, it's ok. Quil wouldn't hurt me. I'm ok." His pupils got really big and then went back to normal, he shook his head and I heard his voice for the first time. "Ok…So your name is Claire?" He asked.

"Yea." I sighed.

"Oh Lord, this is not good!" Jared said worriedly as Quil howled.

I unwillingly tore my gaze away from David and walked over to Quil. Sam growled at me and tried to push me back with his head, but I ducked and ran into their little circle around Quil.

"Quil!" I shouted, "Please calm down, you're scaring everyone."

Quil stopped having a melt down and looked at me. He slowly started to shrink down and change back into himself. Jared came up behind me and whispered, "You might wanna look away."

I did as I was told, then a bit later Quil said, "Claire…It's alright you can look now." Everyone but Jared and David had gone around to the back of the house and got clothes back on.

I slowly turned around and Quil walked up to me. "Claire, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to have you find out this way, I just…I just snapped when I saw what had happened."

"Quil," I said slowly, "It's ok I was going to find out eventually and it's probably best that I saw everyone like this so I know I'm not crazy…But Quil…What exactly did happen that made you freak out so bad?"

He sighed and called for David. After David jogged up Quil said, "Hey man I'm really sorry I freaked out like that, I'm about to explain why to Claire and I just thought you would want to know too."

"It's alright, I'm used to people freakin' out on me." David said with a smile…oh how I loved his smile.

Quil sighed and said, "David you know how you just turned into a wolf out of the blue? Well now that that has happened you can do this thing called imprinting. When you imprint, your whole life changes and it feels like nothing else in the world matters but your imprint…and you imprinted on Claire…The only problem is that she's my imprint too. I imprinted on her when she was two. That's why I freaked out. Go to Sam or Jacob and they'll explain further."

David looked overwhelmed andmore than a tad bit confused, but he did what he was told. Quil said, "You should probably go with him to find out more about this…I just can't explain this right now. I'm sorry" He bowed his head and ran into the woods. A few seconds later his shorts came flying through the trees and I heard feet pounding the ground as he ran off.

I walked over to his shorts, picking them up. Then I walked over to where David was standing by Sam to hear the whole story about my friends that turn into wolves.

**Like? Don't Like? I'll be updating again very soon C= Leave your reviews (they're appreciated) and tell your friends! Love you guys!**

**-Thought Thinker (Linsey)**


	12. Hunted Claire

**Hello My Lovely readers…I'm sure you all want to throw rocks at me for not updating for so long, but you can't blame it on me! I had the whole chapter typed out and everything but then my sister wanted to use the computer so I let her and she ended up turning the computer off without saving the chapter and it was lost. I really am sorry and to make up for it I will type an extra long chapter just for you C= please don't abandon me, I would be very discouraged cause this is one of my favorite stories to update! I love doing random disclaimers so, I do not own any of the twilight characters. I only own Vivian, David, TJ and Claire's parents. Anyway, enough of my nonsense and on with the story.**

Chapter 12

Hunted Claire

Claire's POV

_Tick, Tick, Tick _Aunt Emily's favorite grandfather clock ticked away the seconds. I let out a huffy sigh, making my temples tingle. I was lying upside down on the couch with my hair touching the floor and my legs dangling over the top. Quil was supposed to be here thirty minutes ago to take me patrolling with him, Seth and TJ.

It turns out that TJ was the white wolf, and the guy who I didn't know. Kinda funny, huh? I called him Snowball. Aparently, I took the whole story about the wolves pretty well, better than anyone expected. I had known that there was something crazy going on, but nothing like this. I may have been calm and collected on the outside as Sam was telling me the story, but I was actually screaming inside. I'm way better now, though, because it was just a tremendous shock then.

But anyway, Aunt Emily was shopping, Uncle Sam was…well doing whatever he does and all the other boys were off making trouble. I had no one to hang with, no compadre to mingle with.

And that was a good thing. I never was alone anymore, so I never had time to practice. I tumbled off the sofa, almost breaking my neck, then got up and started pushing it back toward the wall. I pushed all the side tables and the T.V. and chairs and moved the rug and put out the candle on one of the side tables (Just in case).

Luckily I was already in a pair of comfy shorts and a tank top so I didn't have to change. After stretching, I walked to the very far end of the room, touching the back wall. I put my hands up and fell forward into a front flip, then into a side spring that led into a back hand spring, topping it off with a round-off.

"Gosh, I'm a little rusty," I mumbled to myself. The living room was huge so I didn't have to worry about running out of space. "I need music."

I ran upstairs and grabbed my I-pod shuffle off my bed. When I got back downstairs, I played hide and go seek with the I-pod dock…it was hiding. Finally I found it underneath one of the sofa cushions, and put the I-pod into the dock. Twisting the little circle, I found 3Oh!3 and played Starstrukk.

For at least another hour I practiced tumbles, jumps, flips and anything else I possibly could. I hadn't noticed Quil was leaning against the wall by the front door until I landed right in front of him after doing a backflip. I let out a little scream and almost punched him in the face.

"Don't sneak up on me like that! Everyone knows that I scare way too easily." I shouted, gasping for breath.

Quil smiled and said, "Haha, sorry I forgot. You're amazing at gymnastics though. Have you ever been on a team?"

I shook my head no and he looked surprised.

"Well anyway, do you still want to go patrolling?" Quil asked, ruffling his hair a tad.

"Of course I do! And yes," I said, putting one hand on my chest and raising my right hand. "I, Claire Switchen, promise that if anything happens I will listen to you and not be a stubborn teenager brat. Fair enough?"

"Yes…yes it is." Quil said with a triumphant smile.

As I opened the door I muttered, "Hot head."

^^^On Patrol^^^

"I'm on patrol, I'm on patrooooooool." I sang, mimicking Spongebob .

This was the most boring thing I had ever done. The forest was absolutely quiet, the only sounds were little animals trying to escape Quil's huge paws. Oh, and Quil was walking at like, two miles per hour.

"Quil, when does something fun happen?" I asked.

He growled and I remembered that I'm not supposed to talk. I sighed and fell into his long, soft, brown fur.

Seth and TJ were nowhere in sight, probably a few miles away. Just as I thought that nothing cool or exciting was going to happen, Seth's howl broke through the air.

Now the howl was horrible, blood curdling, but it was worse when Quil took off running at lightening speed. My short hair was flying behind me and tears ran parallel to my eyes. Branches threatened to knock me off Quil's back and slap me in the face.

I was terrified that I would either fall off, fall off and get trampled or throw up. Quil on the other hand had an air about him that emitted anger, confidence and temptation. He wasn't scared.

Abruptly, Quil stopped in a highly wooded area, right before a clearing. He motioned for me to get off, but I didn't. I was still frozen in place in terror and I didn't want to be get off.

Aparently Quil's patience had run out because he shook himself back and forth so that I fell off, into a patch of clovers. Before I could protest, he had disappeared. I got up and said to myself, "There is no way I'm staying here."

Quil had left footprints that I followed for about ten minutes. They stopped by a river but when I go there, that wasn't what I was looking at. After crouching behind a bush I saw a lady, about 4'11" with long, wavy white hair was crouched in a defensive position. She looked extremely young, way too young to have snow white hair. In fact she looked like a teenager. She was wearing a t-shirt, a pair of faded blue skinny jeans and black converse. Her deep, crimson red eyes glimmered mischievously and she hissed at the wolves.

Seth pounced at her, but she moved at a speed too fast for my eyes. Seth came crashing into a tree behind her, not moving afterward. Quil took a shot at her by attacking from behind but she simply ducked, then picked him up and threw him into the woods.

Silent tears streamed down my face and terror cemented me to my spot as TJ tried to outwit her by moving with her. She effortlessly danced around TJ's attacks, then finally sent a damaging kick to his shoulder. He howled out in pain and collapsed to the ground, unable to move.

All of the wolves were down, leaving me without any kind of protection or method of escape. I quickly decided to just hold still and not make a sound, maybe she wouldn't notice me. Her ehad whipped in my direction and I held my breath. I almost peed my pants when she said, "There's no use in holding your breath, dear. I can hear your erratic heartbeat."

Her voice sounded angelic, beckoning me to come out. "What are you?" I whispered in a hoarse voice.

She gracefully walked over to where I was sitting and gently pulled me up out of the bushes. Her hands were ice cold, like she was frost bitten. Her pale skin illuminated her eyes when she said, "Dear, I'm your worst nightmare."

She gripped my arms tighter and lifted me a tad bit off the ground, demonstrating her strength. She brought her lips close to my ear and whispered, "Ever heard of a vampire?"

Seth howled and before I could connect the dots, she had sunk her teeth into my neck, making my blood flow effortlessly. The pain didn't last long because I gave in to the darkness that was quickly consuming me.

^^^The Next Day In Aro's POV^^^

I paced back and forth across the stone floor of the sitting room. Where was Mylya? She should have been back a day ago. This was her first mission as my apprentice and I didn't expect her to fail. She had been training with me for months and she was the brightest pupil I had ever trained. She was strong, fast, smart and stealthy. She had a simple mission, to destroy a little girl that was changed into a vampire at the age of three.

I had become attached to Mylya as well. She had been brought to me so that I could feed off of her, but I saw a spark in her that screamed immortal. I looked into her past and she was a tough girl, living a tough life. I told her I could make everything in her life better, she wouldn't have to live the crummy life she was living.

She was eager to escape the human world, so I changed her. Even though she didn't have a gift, she was becoming even more powerful than Jane, which of course Jane did not approve of.

Speaking of Jane, she walked in the room. "Good evening, master." She greeted me with a small bow.

"What news do you bring of Mylya?" I hastily asked, ignoring her greeting.

She looked a little miffed, but continued. "Mylya completed her mission effortlessly."

I scowled, "Where is she?"

"Master," Jane said expressionlessly, "she will not be coming back. She was attacked by three of those shape shifters from La Push, Washington. They caught her off guard while she was feeding on a girl. They destroyed her."

Anger bubbled inside me and shot out when I said, "Kill them. Kill them all! Destroy every single one of those mangy mutts. Did she kill the girl she was feeding off?"

"As you wish master," Jane said with a sly smile, answering my first request. "And no, she did not kill the girl."

I had a sinister plan formed in my head when I ordered, "Bring her to me, alive."

**Dun dun dun duuuuuuun! Oh no! Aro wants the wolves dead and Claire to be brought to him…ALIVE. How will this end? Stay tuned for the next installment of My Screwed Up Life. Mean while please review C= you know you want to.**


	13. Locked Up Claire

**Hey loyal readers, here's the next installment of My Screwed Up Life, but first I must ask you guys a question. Should I continue writing with just some cute events that happen in Claire's life and then get to the big conflict, or should I just get to the conflict sooner? Your input would be lovely and appreciated! I love it when readers help me write the story, and if you see this and think, 'some other person will help her' you better think twice! PM me or review about it…or else (I don't really know what I'll do but I'll think of something and no this is not just some review scam. I would genuinely appreciate your help.)**

Chapter 13

Locked-up Claire

"Quil, what the…heck," Sam screeched, remembering not to cuss, "were you thinking! Why did you take Claire on a patrol?"

At this point he was vibrating and his figure was beginning to slightly distort. "Sam," Emily's soft voice soothed, "Please calm down. We don't want you breaking the couch again, now do we?"

Uncle Sam shot a venomous glare at Quil, but managed to take deep breaths. Quil was sunken back all the way in the arm chair, a terrified look on his face and a sweat breaking out on his forehead. The wrath of the alpha was a hard thing to endure, Claire understood that, but she didn't think it was _this _horrible.

David was leaning back in a chair behind Sam with a smug look on his face, clearly enjoying the situation. Claire ripped the eraser off a near-by pencil, while Sam was dishing out another round of scolding, and flicked it at David hitting him in the eye. The eraser took him by surprise and he flew back in the chair, landing with a loud 'slam!'

Sam whipped around and said angrily, "David…are you having troubles?"

"N-n-no sir, sorry sir." David squirmed under Sam's harsh glare as he picked himself and the chair off the floor.

Now it was Claire's turn to smile smugly. He huffily sat back down in his chair and flipped his sandy hair out of his eyes. He slowly pulled his phone out of his pocket and wrote a quick text. Moments later Claire's phone vibrated and she peered down at her message:

'Meet me in the kitchen?'

She shot David a quick glance before casually getting up and strolling to the kitchen. David followed quickly behind, slightly catching Emily's attention. He shut the door behind him, and looked at Claire. She was already sitting at the table, staring at the worn wood.

"So, you um…know?" David asked nervously.

"Yea, I do." Claire said quietly to the table. "But I'm also Quil's imprint."

David looked at his feet at the mention of Quil, avoiding Claire's eyes. "Yup, and I'm not even Quileute. I just moved here from Helena, Montana so everyone is wondering why the heck I changed. I'm a farm boy, not Quileute."

Claire tore her eyes from the table and looked at David for the first time since the awkward conversation had begun. "Well what are we supposed to do about this whole imprint thing? You both couldn't have imprinted on me, it's impossible."

David had a smile creeping on his face when he said, "Well, I don't think a _real _imprint would take you on patrol and let a vampire get to you."

"The only reason Quil took me was because he wanted me to see what patrol was like so I wouldn't want to go ever again. Plus nobody had ever seen a vampire where we were so Quil had absolutely no idea that that was going to happen!" Claire defended, getting angry. Though she still had mixed feelings about Quil, she still cared for him and wasn't about to let David talk bad about him, imprint or not.

"Alright, alright calm down, I didn't mean to get you angry. We'll figure something," David was cut off mid-sentence by Sam shouting, "Claire, get in here!"

Claire's eyes turned wide and she shot out of her chair, headed straight for the door. David quickly blocked her path.

"Move, or else I'll make Uncle Sam mad at you instead of Quil," Claire said squinting her eyes in warning.

Before David moved out of the way he said, "Can we please just talk about this later? Quil, you and I really need to."

"Fine," Claire sighed, "but later, now move."

And with that, David slid out of the way and Claire walked through the door, prepared to face her crazed Uncle. "Yes Uncle Sam?" Claire questioned innocently, but he wasn't buying it.

"Claire, is it true that Quil told you stay put when he caught the smell of a vampire and you didn't listen?" Sam asked Claire angrily, his eyes blazing with fury.

"Well yes, I did but," Claire defended herself, "I really wanted to see what was going on and I didn't want Quil or TJ or Seth getting hurt!"

"And how would you have been able to help them! Your curiosity almost got you killed! If it weren't for Quil you would be gone forever!" Sam instantly rebutled.

"I'm sorry. I won't go on a patrol again, what's my punishment?" Claire asked, already knowing it would be brutal.

"You're on lockdown for a week and a half. The only place you'll be is school and your room. You will spend no money, send no texts, call no one, no internet or computer, leave your room, eat anything remotely tasty...you won't even be moving around enough to trip. Got it?"

She slightly nodded her head, then bolted for the stairs. She quietly closed to the door of her bedroom and flopped down on her bed. Picking up her remote, she pressed the power button and smiled smugly.

He never said she couldn't watch T.V.

^*^ IN VOLTURA ^*^

Plans were being sent out amongst the Voultri to anihlate the Quileute shape-shifters. The vampires assigned to the task were Jane, Felix, Demitri, Gina, Jameson and Wylie. It would take about one weeks to train them in combat against the shape-shifters, which was no problem, but Aro was impatient.

Meanwhile, Marcus was assisting Aro in his strategy to retrive the Claire girl. Marcus observed more and more that Aro's anger was directed to the human girl instead of the shapeshifters, which made no sense at all. He decided not to ask Aro about his odd anger and instead just listened to what he had to say.

They would send in Marrisol, Marcus's second in command, to bring the girl to Voltura. Marrisol would be perfect because she could be terrifying and sickly sweet at the same time. She was also the strongest in Marcus's division.

The plan was set, they would move out in two weeks.


	14. Falling for Claire

My Screwed Up Life

Chapter 14

Falling For Claire

Claire's POV

A faint glimmer of sunlight penetrated my white curtains, illuminating my room. This was the first time I actually looked at my room; my queen bed with white bed sheets that I was lying in, my splatter painted walls (done by yours truly), the armoire holding my few clothes, the white vanity dresser, the T.V. and hard wood floors.

I asked Uncle Sam and Aunt Emily to have all white furniture so then when I get bored I can paint them various colors; like my walls. I only owned one picture, which I gingerly pulled out from under my pillow. The edges were singed from flames and there was still a thin layer of ash imbedded into the surface.

Ten years back, when I was just turning seven, my best friend Julysia called me crying. She was older than me, but only by two years. "Claire, Claire please you have to help me." She managed to get out between sobs. "Juwysia," I could never say my L's, "what's wrong?"

"My…my mom's boyfriend…he's crazy! He hit me and tried to take off my shirt, please Claire help me!" Julysia cried.

For weeks after that I tried to help her by doing everything I could; telling parents, teachers, anyone I could but no one believed me. Four weeks after I got that first call, I got another from her saying that her mom's boyfriend had got Julysia pregnant.

Exactly nine months later, Vivian was born. Julysia loved and cherished her as much as an eleven year old mother could. When Vivian was only one month old, I was watching her with my mother while Julysia took a day off.

My mom thought we were watching the baby for the boyfriend, and I didn't tell her otherwise. When we went by Julysia's house to drop Vivian off, it was engulfed in flames. Julysia and her mother were gone forever, leaving her mother's boyfriend with nowhere to turn

Little did I know that my mom had been dating the boyfriend for a while, and was in love with him. The couple was gone ninety percent of the time, leaving me to care for a baby that was less than a year old.

Between being abused, taking care of a baby, and still going to school my life was a wreck. To this day my mom still thinks Vivian is her daughter and Vivian thought that my mom was her real mom. Derek and I are the only ones who know the real truth.

Yep, Derek was the boyfriend. It didn't surprise me when I found out he had been cheating on Julysia's mom, and I never had the heart to tell my own mom that Vivian wasn't hers.

The only picture I owned was one of Julysia, Vivian and I at the park. I found it in the ashes of the ruined house that destroyed my life.

Wow I had a screwed up life.

A soft knock at my door whipped me out of my memories and I shoved the picture back under my pillow.

"Come in." My voice cracked. I furiously wiped the tears from my face before Uncle Sam peered inside my room.

"Claire I…are you ok?"

I sniffled, then quickly replied, "Yea I'm fine, and do you need me to do chores?"

A small smile lit up his face, "No sweetheart," He walked in and sat down on my bed, "You've been doing your chores and have been acting well, so I want to let you off the hook."

With one last sniffle, I pushed the memories of Julysia away and locked them back into my heart. "Really?"

He laughed, "Yea really. And the boys have been driving me crazy about wanting to take you out for some fun."

I allowed a tiny smile to dance on my lips, "Tell them I'll be ready in a minute." If I listened carefully, I could faintly hear the boys laughing downstairs.

"Ok," Uncle Sam said, standing and walking to the door. Before he left he said, "You can always talk to me Claire, about anything…"

I nodded and plastered a smile on my face. With that, he left and I shot out of bed to get ready.

^^^Later^^^

I sat in the back seat of Brady's truck, my fingers digging into the cushion.

"Well..?" Brady asked, his eyebrows raised and a smirk threatening to emerge.

"C'mon Claire, you're sixteen! Live a little!" Seth said from the passenger seat. "Claire, Claire, Claire!" Collin, David, Jacob, Embry, Leah and T.J. chanted from the trunk.

"I don't even know how!" I shouted in defiance. David hoped out of the trunk and traded places with Seth, "Don't worry, I'll teach you."

Brady snorted and hoped out of the driver seat, jumping into the trunk. "Get up here Claire." David demanded.

My head screamed 'Don't do it! You'll kill everyone!' but my feet were in a defiant mood. Slowly, I opened the door to the front seat and uneasily slid into the driver's seat. The keys were already in the ignition and the car was softly humming. David moved into the middle seat and he said, "Ok, so just relax. Driving isn't all that hard, I've been doing it since I was twelve. Just get a good grip on the steering wheel."

He took my hands and lifted them onto the steering wheel.

David's POV

This had to be the most fun thing I'd ever done. She was nervous, I could tell from her frantic heart beat. Slowly, I lifted her hands onto the steering wheel, loving how soft and small they felt in mine.

"Now give the gas pedal a little press." I said. She took one deep, unsteady breath and the car lurched forward about three feet.

I laughed, "When I said press, I meant to hold it down."

"Right," she sighed, "I can do this."

I gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze, but she tensed up. I sighed and leaned back against the seat. Brady and Collin burst out laughing at me in the trunk and I shot them a venomous glare through the back window.

Once again, the truck lurched forward, but this time we got about ten feet. I turned back to Claire and said, "Here let me help."

I put my left arm around her shoulders and my right hand ever hers to help her with the steering wheel; then I put my foot gently over hers. With slight pressure, I pressed down and the car moved forward at like five miles per hour. Either way we still moving and she was excited.

"Oh my gosh! I'm doing it…I'm driving!" She said amazed.

Our close proximity allowed me to feel her soft, wavy hair and smell her coconut vanilla perfume. My head was swimming and I could feel my heart beat increase. At that moment, everything else was blocked out besides her.

My whole world revolved around her. I didn't care about the audience in the trunk or how Sam was going to kill me. She was my imprint and I could feel the ties like they were pulling me into her; surrendering me to her.

Slowly, my pressure on the gas ceases and Claire looked at me in confusion. Her beautiful brown eyes gleaming in the sunlight, sending my heart into a frenzy. She tilted her head up and I tilted mine down, fully prepared to kiss her.

Our faces were inches apart when her hand slipped off the wheel and onto the horn. A loud blare erupted into our ears and we sprang apart.

"Ow!" She yelled, covering her ears, "I'm sorry." She turned to face me, her face and neck a blazing red.

"It's alright," I sighed, disappointed that my moment was ruined, "I'll drive if you want me to." I offered in soft tone.

"Sure." She nodded her head in defeat and unbuckled herself. When she got out I gave myself a moment to take in the memory of us inches apart. It was amazing and I wanted it again…and soon. There was no doubt in my mind that I was falling for Claire Switchen.

^^^At The Bowling Alley^^^

Claire's POV

With no help from me, we got to the bowling alley. This was the first time I had been out in about a week and freedom felt good. The nine of us walked up to the front counter and got our bowling shoes. Of course Brady couldn't help but make fun of how I had the feet of a ten year old, but I didn't let him get to me.

The bowling alley was amazing. Strobe lights flashed everywhere and the bowling balls glowed fluorescent under the black light. We stepped down the stairs to the lanes and picked our balls. I chose a bright orange one with purple blended into it.

Quil showed up around half way through the game and I let him take my spot…I was terrible at bowling. At one point in the game, I even accidentally bowled from my lane into the lane next to me. I got very many angry looks from the people next to me.

By the time the third game ended we were all bent over in laughter and wiping tears from our eyes. Collin, Brady, Seth and T.J. were the funniest bowler we had ever seen…ever! I can't even go into detail about the things they did.

An employee walked up to us, halting our laughter. His stern, angry expression had me fidgeting uncomfortably. "There have been many complaints from other bowlers that you, you, you and you," He said pointing to T.J., Brady, Seth and Collin, "have been a nuisance! You four are banned from bowling here ever again!" And with that, the angry man shuffled away.

"What crawled up his…"

"Collin!" Leah shouted, cutting him off.

Collin scowled and Brady attempted at secretly high fiving him. "Well what do we do now?" Embry asked. "There's an arcade up there…they have air hockey." Jacob said, a small smile sneaking onto his face.

"Tournament?" Leah proposed with a smirk. Jacob turned his smug gaze upon Leah, "You're on." She quickly replied. Within two seconds, they were up the stairs and putting quarters into the air hockey machine.

^^^The Next Day^^^

I sat on the couch at Aunt Evelyse's house, ear buds shoved in my ears. Aunt Evelyse was Uncle Sam's little sister and she was amazing. She let me do whatever I wanted, like walk around the woods or sit on my lazy butt and not do chores or practice gymnastics or attempt to cook. I loved relaxing at her house and she liked the company.

'I'm thinking, baby, you and I are undeniable

But I'm finding out loves unreliable

I'm giving all I got just to make you stay

Or am I just a roadblock in your way?'

My ear buds sang. This song was like, my absolute favorite, so I jumped up and started dancing. My horrible voice sang along and I was thankful that no one was around.

'Cause you're a pretty little windstorm out on the boulevard  
Something like a sunset, oh you're a shooting star  
And I might drive myself insane  
If those lips aren't speaking my name

Cause I got some intuition,  
or maybe I'm superstitious  
But I think you're a pretty sweet pill  
that I'm swallowing down  
To counter this addiction  
you've got me on a mission  
Tell me darling, can I get a break somehow?  
How can I say no? She's got a love like woe'

As I spun around, I saw a figure standing by the door. I instantly stumbled and fell flat on the floor, my arm exploding in pain. "Shit!" I screamed.

"Claire!" T.J. shouted in a worried tone, "are you ok? I'm so sorry I snuck up on you like that, are you hurt?"

"Oh no, I'm fine. I'm just lying here in agony for fun."

He knew that when I was being sarcastic like that the situation was not good. "Ok, ok, ok…" he started panicking, "Quil!"

"Yea T.J. what's…" Quil trailed as he walked through the door and saw me on the floor. Without anymore words spoken, I was in Quil's arms being carried to his jeep. Quil sat in the back seat with me cradled in his arms while T.J. drove.

"Claire, where do you hurt?" He asked.

"My…arm…the right one." I managed to choke out. All feeling was lost from my shoulder down and I could feel adrenaline pumping through my veins. Warm tears started pouring down my face, soaking Quil's t-shirt.

Quil's arms slightly tightened around me when he said, "Shh, Claire, it's ok. You'll be alright."

Quil's POV

Claire's small frame convulsed as she sobbed into my chest. Her hot tears poured out like her eyes were a faucet. That's why I thought all the warmth was from her tears, not her arm. By the time we got to the Pine Summit Hospital, my shirt and shorts were soaked. Claire had either fallen asleep or passed out because she stopped crying and was taking deep breaths.

T.J. parked near the entrance and I looked down at Claire. I shrunk back in horror; her skin was torn and the white of her splintered bone could be seen just poking out from the surface. Crimson blood was steadily flowing from the gash and I froze.

The smell of blood was filling the car and staining my shirt. The door flew open and T.J. took one look inside, then turned away.

"C'mon man we've got to get her inside." T.J. said between clenched teeth. Mechanically, I leaped out of the car and quickly headed for the entrance.

^^^Later^^^

I sat by Claire's bed, gripping her small hand. The doctors had given her some kind of amnesthesia to dull the pain. My feelings swirled inside my head and I couldn't think straight. I felt anger, desperation, love, pain, sadness…I couldn't pin one down though. Seeing my Claire Bear like this breaks my heart and I want to just shut my eyes from the sight…but they just won't.

I laid my head down on the bed next to Claire and let the tears wash over me. Seeing the girl I've loved for years, even when she went away for the longest time, tears me up. I'm falling for her harder than any girl I ever have before.

Suddenly the door slammed open and an extremely angry looking David was shaking in the doorway.

**Sorry I did a lot of the ^^^Later^^^ Things, I just didn't know how else to break it up without making it confusing! Love you guys and I hope you loved this chapter…because I did :] Tell me what you thought right down there…the words are blue and all you gotta do is click it. Haha now I'm babbling XD Stay Tuned.**


	15. Fighting For Claire

My Screwed Up Life

Chapter 15

Fighting For Claire

David's POV

The forest was dark and deep, like in Robert Frost's poem Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening. It had even started to snow that day; considering it was November. The cool little flakes melted the moment they connected with my warm fur coat.

I was on patrol in wolf form, along with Leah and Collin. They were having an intent conversation about how long Collin would last in a zombie apocalypse. Leah said he wouldn't even last two seconds, but of course, Collin thinks otherwise.

_If zombies were to attack us like in that movie Zombieland, than I would live more than two measly seconds. Mostly because I would sacrifice you to them and make them full…gosh Leah I thought you knew I was just that awesome and smart,_ Collin said, acting hurt.

_Collin, you're so full of it! I didn't even know that you knew what measly meant. Ladies and gentleman, let's have a round of applause for Collin, the bumbling idiot! David don't you agree with me? I mean last week he started flirting with this girl, but he was too busy staring at her chest when she said her name; which was Janessa, _Leah started, putting an emphasis on Janessa.

_He dated her for a week without knowing her name. Then the other night he was taking her home from a date and said 'Good night, Charity.' Haha, she slapped him so hard that his head was spinning and asked, 'Who the hell is Charity?' Haha she dumped him two seconds later. _Leah said laughing hysterically.

_Do not go dragging David into this!_ Collin scolded Leah,_ We both know that her name WAS Charity…and Leah I'm appalled that you believe I think like that. How rude are you? And what's with your obsession with everything lasting for two seconds?_

_Guys! Enough, _I cut in irritated_, Collin you would last about a minute and Leah it's not nice to point out disabilities! I mean I think like that too sometimes so can you please just talk about something else like rubber bands or raisins?_

_Sure thing buddy,_ Collin said smugly as if he had won the battle.

_Collin, _Leah said calmly.

_Yeeees? _Collin replied, still smug.

_YOU DIDN'T WIN! _Leah shouted, clearly annoyed. Another person phases, it was T.J.

_Guys! Claire's hurt way bad, Sam wants us at the hospital stat, _T.J. shouted frantically.

I immediately took off at a sprint, ignoring the other three voices in my head in the background. One thought kept pounding through my head as it were being coursed through my veins; Claire's hurt.

The whole gang was gathered in the hospital lobby as Sam was sitting with his face in his hands, Emily on his right.

"Where's Quil?" Seth asked, making me notice as well that Quil wasn't there. Gosh what a great imprint he was, I thought to myself.

Sam sighed and lifted his head from his hands, "He's with Claire."

Immediately anger and jealousy bubbled inside of me, "He's what?"

"Aw hell," I heard Leah mutter as I slammed open the doors to ICU.

With more pressure than necessary, I beat the up button on the elevator. A nurse walking past looked at me with a look that said, 'Sir do you need an escort back to the mental ward?' but I only gave her a cold glare.

Her eyes widened and she ran away. I rolled my eyes as the elevator dinged and the doors inched open. I stomped inside and pressed the button for the third floor.

"Why sho pissed off shunny?" the little old lady standing next to me asked sweetly; her teeth whistling when she said anything that started with an_ s_.

I stared down at her tiny four foot body in disbelief, "I…um…" I stuttered taken aback. The elevator dinged and once again the doors inched open.

She hobbled out and I stared after her, still shocked; you wouldn't think a lady like her would say something like that.

I shook my head, remembering that I was angry and slowly the hatred set fire again. Once the doors to the third floor opened an inch I pried them open the rest of the way and tore down the hallway.

I was livid, furious, irritated, fuming, enraged and all other words that mean 'angry until you see red'. Claire was hurt…and _Quil_ was with her instead of me. I stomped through the hospital finding my way to Claire's room.

_1278…1280…1282…aha!_ _Room 1284 _that was the number to Claire's room. Without hesitation I threw open the door to her room and stood shaking in the doorway. Quil was going to get it, and he was going to get it good.

Aro's POV

Tonight was the night! It was the night we set out to avenge Mylya, killing those freaks of nature and more importantly the girl, once and for all. I couldn't wait six more days…I just couldn't. Every day the pain of losing Mylya grows stronger as does my hatred for the pack of shape shifters. The first wave had already been sent out with Marcus and mine was next. The third would be sent out tomorrow.

Marcus and I had had a private meeting with Marissol to brief her on her duties. At first she was upset that she wouldn't be a part of the fighting, but when Marcus told her of her actual job she seemed to forget all about the fight.

She was intent on learning everything we could tell her about her mission and committed Claire's scent to memory.

Claire was, in my mind, already dead and gone…that's just how far ahead I was thinking.

**I'm sorry this chapter is extremely short, but I didn't have time to write the big POW yet. I'm still thinking out the details. This chapter was to kind of prepare you for what's happening next, so it's not over yet! Please read, review and all that other good stuff! :D Love you guys and thanks for the reviews so far. Oh and today I put a poll on my profile because...well...I don't know who Claire should end up with! I personally like both Quil and David and I know she can't have both, so vote for gosh pete's sake! I'll keep you posted with the results in each update. Happy readings!**

**-Linsey **


	16. Remembering Claire

My Screwed Up Life

Poll:  
David: 1  
Quil: 2  
Other: 0

Chapter 16 * Remembering Claire * Claire's POV

"Claire…Claire sweetheart please wake up," a voice pleaded.

I groaned; becoming irritated that this voice was disturbing my deep sleep, "Ay swayr ay din't do ith, now oh uhway." My words were a bit more slurred than I would have liked, but I think I made my point.

I heard a snicker, than a quiet, "Watch and learn, boys."

"Hey Claiiiiiiiire, guess who ate you last fruit bar?"

My eyes shot open and I flung myself upright, making blood rush to my head. Quicker than I thought I could move I had grabbed a first-full of someone's shirt; my eyes started to adjust to see that I had grabbed TJ's shirt and was inches from his terrified face.

".Thehem," I asked menacingly, emphasizing each slurred word. Everyone knew not to eat my strawberry fruit bars; I bought them with my own money so therefore I felt that they were mine…MINE!

"Haha don't worry Claire, nobody ate them…I swear!" TJ assured, sounding nervous. I let go of his shirt and fell back onto the bed, my energy spent. For the first time I noticed that all of my senses were dulled and my whole body felt numb. Oddly, as well, my right arm felt heavy, bulky…and a little itchy. I tried to scratch it but something was blocking the skin.

"Wha is dis? What happeneded to meh?" Wow I wished my voice was clearer.

Someone sighed and sat down on the edge of my bed, "Claire…you had a little accident involving singing, falling and a lot of bleeding. The doctor says you should be fine, but he's a little concerned that he knows your name and recognizes you by now."

I groaned, getting annoyed that my body was numb, "How lung hahve ay been uhsleep?"

"You've been asleep for about one day. Let's get you home, honey." Uncle Sam's voice soothed.

"Sounuds like uh dheal." I whispered before I fell back to sleep

^^^Later^^^

I awoke in my bed, the covers warm and comforting around me. Uncle Sam's angry voice flittered up the hallway and through my open door. I was no longer numb and my senses were back to the way they should be. I could smell the fresh snowy morning through my ajar window, feel the cold against my skin and the billowy comforter under my palms, I could see the crisp bright colors contrasting against the original white of the walls, I could taste a staleness in my mouth from not opening it for so long and I could hear Uncle Sam's shouts from downstairs. I leaned slightly forward, listening to the words he was saying:

"You two ought to be ashamed of yourselves! I can't believe you would fight each other like that; you're a part of a pack…a family. I demand you to tell Claire everything that you did and apologize to her and each other. That's an order, am I clear?"

The only thing that followed was silence, but then footsteps could be heard trudging up the stairs. "It's your entire fault," I heard David mutter.

David? Why would he be in trouble…?

"Hey Claire, are you awake?" Quil's voice softly asked. I stiffened; fitting the pieces together…David and Quil fought and it had something to do with me.

"Yea, come on in." I yawned. Thank goodness, I thought, I don't sound like I'm drunk anymore. David and Quil walked into my room and I gasped. Quil had a black eye, a long scratch down the side of his arm and was leaning on my dresser for support because of his injured foot.

David's hair was shorter on one side than it used to be, his nose was at an odd angle, his lips were puffy, a large chunk of skin was missing from his shoulder and his knee was bandaged. Even though the injuries looked like they were severe at some point they looked about a quarter of the way healed. These boys really messed each other up.

"What the hell did you do to each other?" I screeched. Quil looked me straight in the eyes and said, "I'm sorry Claire, when you got hurt we both went a little crazy and blamed one another. It ended with us looking like this."

I scoffed, "Why would you fight over something as stupid as that? You both know I care about you and that I hate seeing you hurt!" I slammed my fists down on my bed for emphasis, "I'm not worth your guy's well being; now you need to be nice to each other…please for me."

"I'm really sorry Claire, I promise I won't ever fight over something like that again," Quil apologized as he sat down next to me on my bed. I scooted over so that he would have more room. Twining his arms around my shoulders, he gave me a soft hug that I returned.

Quil looked expectantly at David and David sighed, letting his arms fall from their crossed position against his chest.

He came and sat down on the other side of me so that I was squished between two warm bodies, "I'm sorry too Claire, it was stupid of me to pick a fight with Quil just because he wasn't there to protect you and that he was with you instead of me. I hope you can forgive me too."

Smiling, I wrapped my arms around each of the boys' massive shoulders and sighed, "Ah, I have my boys back." Both of them leaned into me and at that moment my life was perfect. Everything was serene and safe and normal…and I hadn't felt that way in a very long time.

^^^Monday^^^

The weekend was extremely uneventful and the next thing I knew it was my first day of school. Waking myself up at six in the morning I showered, put on a pre-picked out outfit, slipped on my Joker high top converse, brushed through my snarly hair, ate a quick bagel, brushed my teeth then waited outside for the bus.

I was supposed to ride bus 213 with Jacob, Collin, Brady, Seth, Quill, David and T.J. Uncle Sam told Embry that he had other important things to do besides school, so he stayed behind.

The big yellow bus pulled up and I was standing there, all alone. Where were the guys? A tight, prickly knot started to form in the pit of my stomach making my throat close up in fear.

Mechanically, I stepped onto the bus to find it filled with kids already. Some were big, some small, some freshman, some juniors, some beautiful, some gross looking…either way it was filled with strangers and my subconscious didn't handle that well.

There were only a few empty seats right around the middle so I sat down in one of those. I pulled my phone out and texted the only person who I knew for sure always carried their phone.

_David where are you guys? I'm sitting here on the bus without you. _I furiously typed

_I'm sorry, Claire, Sam put us on patrol this morning. Another vampire scent was picked up in the woods. We won't be able to be at school until later. _I received back moments later.

I sighed, leaned back in my leather seat and shoved my phone back into my pocket. This was going to be a long first day.

When I got to school I headed straight to the office to pick up my schedule. The secretary lady was very snobby when informing me that 'my guardian should have picked up my schedule in advance to my first day' but I simply shrugged her off and flicked a rubber band at her crooked, pointy nose when she wasn't looking.

My schedule was: English 1-2, P.E., Chorus, Social Studies, Lunch, Algebra 1-2, and Science. I walked into my first class with a late pass form the bird lady secretary and sat down where the teacher put me. I sat in the very back of the large class room, a guy on my left and right and in front of me. Later in the class I learned that the boy to my left was named Randy and the guy to my right was named Cory, the one in front of me was Tyler. All three questioned about my cast and said they liked the color, teal.

In P.E. I impressed everyone with my ability to climb a rope without knots and run twenty laps around the huge gym. The teacher even asked me if I wanted to run on the track team! For most of the class though, we practiced old fashioned ball room dancing.

In chorus nothing special happened at all. In Social Studies is when I first saw the wolves, Jacob, Seth and Brady. The rest of the day was extremely uneventful.

At lunch, I made friends named Cori, Carrie, Dani, Xander, Gryffin, Cawner and Toni. They were crazy, funny, and random and like to hurt each other a lot…they were just my kind of people.

When I got home I collapsed on the couch, fully prepared to pass out, when I felt someone kiss my forehead; it was Quil.

"Hey Claire, how was your first day of school?" He asked with a smile.

I sighed, "It wasn't all that great. The only fun thing that happened was that I got asked to join the track team. Oh and I made some new friends."

Quil smiled, still leaning over the arm of the couch to look at me, "Hmm that's good, I'm so sorry I couldn't be there with you. Sam had me patrolling since early this morning; we've been picking up vampire scents like crazy and he just doesn't want to take any risks."

"It's alright," I assured sitting upright and patting the spot next to me. Quil sat down and leaned back against the sofa, "Oh, I almost forgot I found something of yours." He remembered.

From out of his jeans pocket came a small necklace with a heart shaped wooden charm and the initials C.A. on it.

"Oh my goodness…Quil where in the world did you find this?" I breathed as I reached for the small memorabilia.

He smiled and chuckled, "It was underneath the couch. When I saw you weren't wearing it the past few days, I kinda looked around for it. It was way under the couch…" he trailed, his penetrating eyes boring into mine. Instantly sparks ignited between us, "Put it on for me," I whispered. I stood up then gingerly sat back down on his lap, my back facing him. He pulled the charm around my neck and brushed my bouncy curls aside. Once the clasp was secure his fingers lingered around my collar bone then down to my shoulders.

The feeling of his hands on me, even if they were tiny gestures, set my whole body on fire. Without thinking, I turned myself around, my knees on either side of his waist and my hands pressing against his chest. His fingers moved up to my face to trail along my temple, trace my eyes and caress my lips.

He leaned into me and started placing small kisses against my collar bone and neck while I took everything about him in; his soft black hair, his beautiful tanned skin, the muscles on his arms and chest that flexed when he moved, the way his hands rubbed circles on the small of my back…he was perfect.

He moved his lips up my neck, across my jaw line, against my cheek bones until his lips were inches from mine. If I were to lean slightly forward we would be kissing. His breath was warm and comforting while the heat of his burning body penetrated my thin cotton shirt and shorts.

Abruptly, he removed the space between us. His lips were hungry, but soft at the same time. I twined my arms around his neck and grasped at his hair; burning every moment of my first kiss into my memory. Sooner than I would have liked he pulled away, but kept his perfect full lips against my ear.

"Do you remember when you got that necklace?" He whispered in a husky voice. As Quil fingered the necklace draped across my chest, I slightly shook my head no.

I felt him smile against my ear, "You were three years old and it was your birthday. I hadn't missed one of your birthdays ever so you expected me to be there. Your mother, though, had told me the wrong time for the birthday party on accident. Once you got to your house and everyone yelled surprise, you immediately started looking for me.

When I wasn't there you sat down on the couch, cried your eyes out and refused to start the party until I got there. Your mom called me quite a few times but of course I was patrolling and didn't have my phone on me. Finally, Seth phased and told me to go over to your house because I was missing the birthday party and you were throwing a hissy fit that I wasn't there," Quil was speaking slowly as he told the story and his hands were still training along my back, keeping me firmly against his scorching body.

"When I finally arrived you were so happy and announced that the party could start. Everything went normally; you ate cake, played games, and started opening presents. I made sure that my present was first because well, I'm childish like that. You opened it and your eyes got that special twinkle of excitement in them that only I could make. You had said, 'Quil, what does the C.A. stand for?' I told you that it stood for Claire Ateara. You jumped into my arms and hugged me as tight as your little three year old arms could manage. Your mom took the necklace from you 'so that you wouldn't lose it'. Later after everyone had gone home and the party was over, your mom pulled me aside to talk to me. She said that Claire depended on me way too much and that it wasn't healthy; she was going to move you and herself to Wyoming. You moved away and I was shattered; after all…you were my imprint."

I shoved my face into Quil's shoulder and felt tears squeeze out of my eyes, "I can't believe I don't remember." I sighed. Suddenly, as if a veil had been lifted, everything became clear. Memories rushed at me like a waterfall and I gasped at the abruptness. There was Quil and I finding rocks on the beach, Quil and I playing dress up, Quil and I baking a cake for Aunt Emily's birthday and so much more that it was overwhelming.

Another realization hit me as well, Quil had always been there for me and now I realized that I always loved him. When I first came here and had odd feelings toward him, I didn't know exactly what they were, but now I realize that it was love.

"It's ok," Quil soothed, wrapping his arms around my waist, "you remember now." I nodded my head and relaxed my body.

We stayed like this for what seemed like forever, that is until a loud crashing sound came from outside. Instinctually, I jumped off Quil's lap and raced to the window to see what was going on. The crash had come from trees that were knocked to the ground as Jacob had raced through them; probably running into them on the way here. Jacob lied in a russet heap just outside the forest.

Right before our eyes he morphed back into a human and was curled up in a ball. Quil and I raced outside to help him, "Jacob what's happening?" Quil questioned as I looked away and Jacob pulled his shorts on. He had a huge gash on his chest and his shoulder was badly bleeding.

"It's leeches," Jacob panted, "they're everywhere! It's a massive attack and we need backup, I came here to come get you. David is on his way to protect Claire, Sam won't let him fight because of how inexperienced he is. Gosh he'd probably just throw a leech into a river or something, but anyway we need you Quil, let's go."

I gazed at Quil, my eyes pleading for him not to leave me, but all he said was, "I'm sorry sweetheart but I have to go."

His expression looked sad as he placed his warm, rough hands on either side of my face, "Stay safe, and don't let David make any moves on you. If he does I'll kick his ass." He chuckled when I playfully punched him in the stomach.

He bent down and placed a quick kiss on my lips, then ran into the woods with Jacob following behind. I stood outside for a moment, my emotions swirling inside me. These new feelings toward Quil were totally foreign to me and I didn't know how to handle or control them. I had never been in love before.

At that moment all I felt was happy and I skipped inside, up the stairs and flopped onto my bed. This had officially been the best day ever, I thought as I fell sound asleep.

^^^Later^^^

Wind tore at the trees outside and rain mixed with snow poured through the window, soaking the hardwood floor. It never occurred to me that these things were happening though because I was still groggy with sleep and high on Quil's kiss.

A sharp wind blew directly into my room and left ice covering my exposed cheek. A chill spiraled through my body and I got up to close the window. The ground was slick and cold underneath my bare feet and I slipped. My casted arm banged against the ground and it exploded in pain.

"Arg!" I grunted in pain, the icy floor unwelcoming. That's when I saw it, a shadow casting against the wall in the hallway

And it was coming straight for my room.

"David?" I questioned to the hallway, remembering that he was supposed to be here to protect me. I received no answer and the shadow crept closer. It was right outside my door.

**Wholy crap that was a freakin' long chapter! Six pages and 3,059 words later this chapter was born. I hope you guys appreciated this because it took me all day…literally. In the next chapter we find out the details of the Vamp/Wolf clash! And what happens to Claire when Marrisol attacks? Where the heck is David when you need him? Stay tuned my lovelies: )**

**-Linsey**


	17. Brave Claire Part I

My Screwed Up Life

Chapter 17

Brave Claire Part I

Poll: David-2, Quil-2, Other-0 (C'mon people vote! It's all tied up now! Hint: You can vote more than once but try to refrain from voting more than once a day please)

_"David?" I questioned to the hallway, remembering that he was supposed to be here to protect me. I received no answer and the shadow crept closer. It was right outside my door._

***Claire***

Fear swallowed all logic in me and I shoved my head under my covers. Another blast of icy wind penetrated the thick comforter and I involuntarily shivered.

A soft, fast soprano humming started up from the corner, "Hm hm hm hm. Hm hm hm hm hmmhm hmmmhm, Hmmmmm."I recognized it as the tune from Tim Burton's, Coraline.

Her humming sent chills down my spine, creating an even eerier atmosphere in my small room. I could hear the creeks of the old wood my rocking chair was made of as it fell back and forth; I had put it in there a few days ago before my accident.

"Creepy, is it not, my dear? I never was quite sure what language it's in, but this song always struck me." Her melodious voice cooed, "What's your name darling?"

Slowly, I peeked my eyes out from under the covers, peering at the intruder. She had wild black hair that was organized chaos, crimson red eyes, pale skin and full red lips.

"C-C-Claire," I managed to choke out in a panic-stricken whisper.

"Claire, what a striking name for such a picturesque girl," her melodic voice cooed.

I gulped and her mesmerizing eyes shot to my throat, "W-Who are you? What do you w-w-want?"

A breathtaking smile alighted on her perfect face and an insidious look appeared in her eyes, "They call me Marrisol and I do Marcus's dirty deeds. There is only one thing I want from you Claire."

I nodded, signaling her to continue, "I want you to come with me." She outstretched her hand for me to take.

"S-Sorry about all of the questions but where would you be taking me?"

The insidiousness vanished and her features softened, "Claire, I will take you to a place where you will live forever within a family that will love you. We can give you back all of your memories, we can give your parents what they deserve and bring your sister back to you. All you have to do is come with me." Her hand stretched a little further.

"I will go, but only on two conditions. One, you tell me what exactly you are and two, you don't ever hurt my family." I compromised, my alarm shooting through my body.

Marrisol pursed her lips in thought, "Fine, I am what you would call a vampire. Now, come with me Claire." She was inches from me now and when she said vampire I instantly thought of the Cullens. Jacob and Quil had told me all about them.

Before she could fully secure me in her grasp, a shout came from the doorway, "No Claire!" Marrisol was thrown away from me so fast that everything appeared as a blur. The blur flew out my open window and I rushed to the pane. Outside, a wolf of orange fur was poised in an attack position while Marrisol was glancing around in search of her left arm.

I was frozen, not just because of the winter weather raging outside but because of pure terror. My eyes grew wide and glassy as the two took shots at each other. David, Marrisol, David, Marrisol; only glimpses of them could be seen every few seconds.

Whines, hisses and growls ripped through the peace of the night, telling me that David wasn't winning his battle. I remembered what Jacob had said, _'__David is on his way to protect Claire,_ _Sam won't let him fight because of how inexperienced he is. Gosh he'd probably just throw a leech into a river or something..._'

This realization caused me to move, out of my bedroom, down the stairs, through the living room and into the kitchen. I thrust open the nearest drawer and pulled out a small knife. I remembered Seth had told me that when he and Edward were fighting a vampire named Victoria, Bella had used her blood to distract Victoria and give Edward a chance.

This was the only idea that screamed in my mind and I wasn't opposed to trying it. Yes I knew I could get killed, yes there was a possibility that it wouldn't work and yes I knew it was a stupid idea but I couldn't just stand by and watch my imprint die. Not after I had become so close to him.

I stood in the small kitchen, the knife resting against my arm. Before nerves could paralyze me and ruin my chance, I sliced down the center of my arm like I was cutting through butter.

Instantly pain coerced through my body and sent me to the ground. As I hit the floor, my teeth clenched and a small scream bubbled up my throat. Get up! I mentally shouted to myself.

Though the room was spinning and tepid, cherry red blood made a bright trail to my fingertips, I stood. Every step seemed like a mile as I trudged to the stairs; a blood trail splattered on the ground in my wake. Great, I thought through the pain, now I've got two bad arms. I spared a quick glance down at my teal cast.

Once in my room I hurried to the window and thrust my arm out. The chilling air numbed the wound quickly and the wind carried drops of my blood to the snowy ground. The blood traveled further than I thought it would and a drop landed right on Marrisol's nose. A few also landed on David but he didn't notice; he was looking for a break in Marriosl's defense.

It was only a second, half a heartbeat even, but it was there. She stopped and inhaled deeply, taking in the appetizing smell. As she peered at my window David pounced on her, taking her head clear off her shoulders with a sickening crunch. The sight immediately had my stomach turning and I fell to the floor. On the way down my head smacked against my dresser and blood poured through my thick hair.

I laid there, on the icy floor, my tears mixing with my blood, before I completely blacked out.

**Commence Part I**

**Hey guys I hope you liked it! I saw Breaking Dawn yesterday and absolutely loved it! I totally loved the part where Quil was with Claire by the water, it pulled at my heart-strings! It made me want to put a few Twilight Vampire moments in here so I included the part with Bella slicing her arm open. But anyway, Part II should be coming sooner than Part I did because I've given myself time to recoup from my mental exhaustion of late. Stay tuned and remember, reviewing this story will not kill you (hint hint)! Stay amazing guys!**

**Love, Linsey **


	18. Brave Claire Part II

My Screwed Up Life

Chapter 18

Brave Claire Part II

Poll: David-2 Quil-2 Other-0 (Sorry Guys I screwed up, apparently you can't vote twice...SORRY)

.::[C]:[l]:[a]:[i]:[r]:[e]::.

Mmmm death, it felt really good. Everything was dark and peaceful, kind of like I was sleeping. The pain was completely gone and blissful sleep is all that clouded my mind.

Suddenly, a thought struck me, is Quil or David worried about me? Wait, who's Quil? Who's David?

I searched through the memories in my head but then panic-strickenly realized that I had none. Now that I thought about it, who was I? My panic started to cause a pain in my arms and head, and once I thought about it…my chest started to hurt, too.

What happened to the peace? Being dead was not supposed to hurt like this.

Far too abruptly for my liking I woke up, back in the real living world, to find my arm wrapped in a towel and a large shirt being pressed against my head.

Hands pressed firmly down on my chest in a steady rhythm, causing my ribs to ache. My eyes were still sealed shut and as my lungs began to burn I realized I wasn't breathing. Sharply, I inhaled the cold air around me, satisfying my lungs.

The compressions on me stopped and warmth suddenly radiated near my face. The heat felt good against my skin and I was about to reach out and touch it, but it pulled away.

"No…" I whispered so faintly that I could barely hear myself, but just because I couldn't didn't mean that another person couldn't.

"Claire? Oh my gosh, Claire! Oh my gosh you're okay…" David's worried voice rang through my ears.

I was still lying on the ice covered floor and the smell of blood was pungent around me. I reached my hand toward David's heat, the hand with the cast, and he pressed my fingers against his cheek. They were wet with warm tears that steadily flowed onto my fingertips. With much effort, my eyes fluttered open to see my cute farm boy hovering over me with a relieved look on his face and tears leaving stains on his cheeks.

Despite the situation, I smiled, "David, it's ok. You don't need to cry, Collin and Brady would laugh their asses off if they saw you right now!"

A comforted smile appeared on his face and he squeezed my hand that was still firmly pressed against his face.

"Please don't tell them, okay?"

I started to laugh, but the pain was too much and my laugh, halfway through, came out as a wheeze. Panic returned to David and so that it would distract him I blurted out, "Eww I'm so cold." Luckily for me, it worked because he gingerly picked me up and set me carefully on my bed. After making sure he shut the window and I crawled under my cozy bed sheets, he started to leave.

"No, David!" I mock-shouted.

"Yes?"

"I'm still cold."

David's blank expression turned thoughtful and he carefully flopped onto the bed; of course he was on the top sheets. I turned onto my side and David snuggled close to me, putting his arm around my stomach. I fell blissfully into a deep sleep in the arms of my imprint.

``[L]:[a]:[t]:[e]:[r]``

"Awe look how cute our little Claire bear is! All snuggled against David! If it were any other couple I'd be gagging right about now. I mean look at them, they're practically spooning."

"Dude, I know right? This guy is totally whipped! It's only a matter of time before she's got his ba-"

"Collin don't even think about finishing that sentence!" David demanded. His voice was extremely close to my ear and I could feel his breath against my neck.

"Sorry David, didn't even know you were awake!" Brady claimed cheerfully, not even phased that David had been listening. Then again, I was listening too and no one knew it. Hehe sneaky, sneaky me.

"Yea, yea…Why couldn't you two have gotten eaten by a leech or something?" David softly questioned.

Brady and Collin went silent and uneasiness settled into the room. "Um, there's something we need to tell you…and for damned sake man, get off of her!" Collin's voice went from somber to disgusted, but David (not to my liking) unwound his arms from around me and sat up.

"What's up?" He asked lightly.

There was a pause before Collin answered, "A vamp attacked T.J…. he…he got bit and…didn't make it to the morning. One almost got Quil, too. He broke a lot of bones and hasn't been able to phase back yet."

No way. There was no way it was true. T.J. dead and Quil maimed? I refused to believe it, but my heart and eyes thought otherwise. A tear rolled down my face and landed with a soft drop onto my pillow, but luckily no one noticed. Hollowness formed in my chest and it started to ache almost as bad as my head wound…

Oh my, I completely forgot about that! Thinking about it caused the pain to roar its gruesome head and I couldn't help it, I winced. The room went quite and I could feel everyone's stares on me. _Well Claire, _I thought to myself, _it's time to be brave and face the horrible, unforgiving world._

**Thank you all for continuing to read and review this odd, twisty story! :D I appreciate every single review and keep writing purely because of you guys. Stay amazing my sweeties!**

_Love, Linsey  
_


	19. Kiddnapped Claire!

My Screwed Up Life

Chapter 19

Kidnapped Claire!

Poll: Still tied between David and Quil!

Claire

Gosh, when you face a near death experience, it seems like everyone around you looses their minds! First it was David freaking out cause I basically did die, then the boys being all brotherly-protective-ish, then Aunt Emily insisting I go to the hospital, then Uncle Sam swearing he'll never let me out of his sight again. Of course I appreciated all the sympathy, but I felt so smothered and really embarrassed. I didn't really like being the center of attention, and when I was I was _really _uncomfortable.

I also felt bad for the hospital people; ever since I showed up at La Push, their file on me grew extensively. When I arrived there and my doctor pulled out my file, it was about four inches thick. He greeted me with, "Hello, Claire. Where are you hurt and what were you doing?"

Of course, just as I explained to Aunt Emily and Uncle Sam, my injuries really weren't that bad. It was just a severe head wound and a deep gash, both with at least five stitches or staples or whatever, that would heal up in a few weeks. I really wasn't that hurt.

A few days after the surprise battle we held a funeral for TJ. I have to say that that was the second saddest thing I had to do in my life. Of course, everyone was fitted in black and we held the funeral outside, near the beach. All of the pack was too choked up to say the eulogy and none of the imprints knew him as well as I did, so I had to give it. The whole time tears were streaming down my face and I would have _killed _for a tissue, but for some reason giving the eulogy gave me a sense of closure. I was going to miss my white wolf, my wolf that would always remain in the background and quietly observe, my wolf that promised to one day show me how to make toast without burning it, my wolf that was always there to catch me if I stumbled and almost face-planted at school…who's going to sit next to me in Social Studies and Science now? Damn, I was completely heartbroken over this.

Carved into a stone, next to a tree on the beach, was:

_In memory of Talon Jameson (TJ) Prett, our White Wolf._

Seeing Quil in his crippled state didn't help either. Even a few days post-attack, he still couldn't phase back into a human. We had a doctor (that knew about the wolves) check up on Quil every few days, but every single day I would visit him and stay with him. It didn't matter if he had a million broken bones or if he was a wolf for eternity, I still loved him enough to stand by him.

It was a Saturday evening when I was watching The Dark Knight with David on my couch. Just as the cell phone bomb exploded from the man's stomach, I mini-screamed and shoved my face into David's shoulder. Of course, he laughed at my squeamishness and simply kissed the top of my head in comfort.

I looked up at him like he was crazy and asked, "You really think that will make it better? I just watched a man's _guts_ fly _all over a room_!"

My hands flew to my stomach to make sure it was still intact. That just induced more laughs from David as he slung his arm around my shoulders, "Claire, Hun, you're fine! It's just a movie. You have to admit that Heath Ledger plays a pretty good Joker."

"Yes, of course I do," I automatically replied, "But he was way cuter as William in A Knight's Tale! I can't believe he's dead…"

Right after I said it, tears welled in my eyes and I thought of TJ.

"David," I whispered, "I'm going to miss him."

He knew I wasn't talking about Heath Ledger, "I know Hun, and we all miss him."

David looked down at me and wiped away my tears with his thumb, "It's alright."

I nodded and looked back to the movie screen, just as Rachel was being blow to smithereens. Again, I mini-screamed an retreated to David's shoulder.

This time instead of laughing, David sighed, put two fingers under my chin and made me look at him. A small smile was on his face when he asked, "Do you want to turn it off?"

I stared into his deep blue eyes and slowly nodded my head no. He smiled wider and the freckles bridging his nose shifted, damn I loved that.

He bent down and sweetly kissed my nose. I closed my eyes and the next thing I knew his lips were mere inches from mine, I could tell from his warm breath. Before he could kiss me, he stiffened up and snapped his head toward the window.

"Vampires." He breathed.

That word sent images reeling through my mind: that vampire with the white hair and mischievous red eyes sinking her teeth into me, Marrisol trying to coax me into coming with her…both unpleasant images.

David raced to the door and locked it. "It's not like a lock is going to-ah!" I couldn't finish before he slung me over his shoulder and started racing to the kitchen. He burst through the back door and set me down on the porch.

"David what are you-" Before I could complete my sentence he had vaulted over the railing and exploded into a wolf. I didn't need him to tell me what to do next.

Sliding under the railing, I landed right on his back and away we flew.

David was running so fast that everything was a blur around us. I shoved my face into his orange fur, trying to look at what was ahead of me made my stomach turn. It was too dark to see much anyway.

One sharp and abrupt jolt sent me flying off of David's back. Everything was in slow motion, I could see absolutely nothing, not even the tree that I crashed into. As my body smashed into the bark, I could feel the stitches ripping open on my arm and the staples giving in on my skull. The bark dug into my back and I could feel my blood slowly creep through my hair and down my arm. A sick feeling crept up my throat, like I was about to throw up and when I opened my eyes my vision was blurred. All I could see was a blob of orange and random white spots charging each other.

Just as the blob of orange was struck down, icy cold arms wrapped around my limp body and lightly lifted me from the ground.

**OH NO! Claire's been kidnapped by vampires! What will happen next?**

**Well stay tuned and you'll find out my pretties.**

**OH THE IMPATIENCE!**

**Haha, love you guys!**

**Peace, Love and Bobby Sherman:**

**Linsey**


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